Harvey Barnes has come the other way following his recall from West Brom, but the number of incomings is unlikely to match those heading for the exit, with Puel reluctant to do business in the difficult winter window.

“You spoke about Diabate, when we took back Harvey, it’s not just to replace him numerically. It’s because Harvey can give good help for us,” Puel said.

“Just because one player leaves the club, we do not automatically need to replace him. The most important thing is to keep the balance.

“I don’t want to replace a player just to replace a player, just to have another number in the team. It’s not necessary.

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“If a player comes in the team, it’s because he can give good help and all the strengths for the team.

“For the transfer window in January, we cannot take players without the feeling he can give all the strengths and can become a valuable player for the team.

“The winter transfer window is difficult. It’s difficult to find a good player, ready to play. If we took a player who had not played for six months and he needed two months to come back, it will not be possible. We have no interest about this.

“To find a good player now, in the winter transfer window, is always difficult or we need to spend a lot of money.

“It is important to keep the right way. It was not bad our first half of the season. We need to improve the team step by step but if it’s not possible in the winter, we have objectives and all the information for the summer. This is the most important thing.

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“This period is not the right period to make the transfers and make a lot of moves.”

Lots of players have been linked with moves away this month, including out-of-favour midfielders Andy King and Adrien Silva, as well as title-winners Christian Fuchs and Shinji Okazaki, who have both played bit-part roles this campaign.

Puel refused to mention any player by name, but said every team member’s concerns were listened to, and that he would help players find opportunities elsewhere if their departure would not damage the squad’s strength in depth.

“I cannot give for any player (the details) about their situation,” said Puel. “In general, it will be sometimes a difficult transfer window and a difficult period to manage.

“We have to listen and to understand players without a lot of game-time and we will try to manage this tough period and keep the right way because it’s important for the squad.

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“All the decisions we take during the transfer window will be for the club and for the squad and to keep a good balance in the team with good possibilities to continue our way in the second half of the season.

“But I can understand the different feelings and feedback about some players.

“What I can say is if a player has to leave the club, it’s because we can have solution in the squad and we can keep the balance, which is the priority for the club.

“We’ll see if some players can have opportunities on loan. If we give them this opportunity to leave the club, it’s because the priority of the club is the squad is to maintain the quality and to keep the players ready to play.

“I cannot make comments about individual players. We listen to the players but the general interest is the club.

“We have to manage this period and try to find the right solution and right decisions about players. The priority is the club.

“We’ve only just started the second half of the season. There are a lot of games, a lot of difficulties in front of us and we need to have all the strength possible.”